ReliefWeb

Kathmandu (dpa) - At least 14 Nepalese security men and Maoists were killed when a clash erupted Monday in Kavrepalanchowk district, 60 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu, security sources said.

A Nepalese army spokesman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that eight security personnel, including army men and police, were killed in the clashes.

He said bodies of six Maoists were recovered from the incident site but that the Maoists causalities could be higher. He said the security forces also recovered ''some weapons''.

According to security sources, the clash began after Maoists and security forces confronted each other at around 8.30 a.m. local time.

Sources said a search operation was mounted to nab the fleeing Maoists.

On Friday, the Maoists ambushed a passenger bus killing six security men and two civilians, also in Kavrepalanchowk district.

The Maoists shot dead a college principal and his two body guards in the tourist resort township of Pokhara, 140 kilometres west of the capital, Sunday.

Maoists seeking to set up a communist republic in Nepal began an armed insurgency in February 1996. More than 11,500 people have been killed since then. dpa sb jh